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Squash Delivery or Pickup
The Instacart guide to squash
While we often think of squash as a vegetable, it's technically a fruit and is a member of the Cucurbitaceae family. Botanically, when a fruit or vegetable has seeds on the inside, like squash, apples, peaches, cucumbers, and tomatoes, it's a fruit. Vegetables come from a plant's root, stem, or leaves, such as carrots, lettuce, broccoli, and potatoes. Even though squash is botanically a fruit, it's generally cooked as a vegetable. Â
About squash
Squash is divided into hard or Winter squash and Summer or soft squash. All parts of the squash plant are edible, including the flesh, flowers, and seeds. Squash is a versatile food and tastes wonderful in a variety of recipes. Squash, whether Winter or Summer variations, grows prolifically, and you can generally find some type of variety year-round.
How to pick out squash
Whether you shop for squash at the supermarket or farmers market, shop seasonally for either Summer or Winter varieties. Bigger isn't always better when it comes to squash, as the bigger and older they are, the more fibrous and less sweet they become. For Summer squash, look for your smaller versions, often with the flower still attached, to find the sweetest and most tender ones. When shopping for hard squash, look for ones without blemishes and with a small piece of stem still attached.
Common types of Summer squash
- Zucchini: This is one of the most popular Summer squash varieties you'll find in supermarkets or local farmer's markets. Zucchini is a long, green squash with a slightly sweet flavor. Use Zucchini in stir-fries, in dessert bread, or stuffed with your favorite ingredients.
- Pattypan: These adorable squash, sometimes called UFO squash due to their circular shape, have a scalloped edge and come in several colors. Most Pattypans are yellow, green, or variegated. Young or baby Pattypan squash has a sweet flavor and wonderful to eat lightly steamed.
- Crookneck: It's easy to identify Crooknecks with their yellow color, bulbous bottom, and thin, curved top. Crookneck squash tends to have tougher skins and is best used in soups or stews.
- Zephyr: These pretty two-tone squash are recognizable by their yellow tops and light-green bottoms. Cook as you would Zucchini or Crookneck squash.
- Cousa: This is a common Summer squash found in Middle Eastern and Mexican cuisine. They have a similar appearance to Zucchini with a lighter green color and wider bottom section. Cousa is sweet and tender and tastes wonderful steamed with a little bit of butter.
Common varieties of Winter squash
- Acorn: One of the most common of hard squashes, the Acorn squash gets its name from its acorn shape. They generally have a dark green body with a light patch of orange on the top of the squash. Roasting Zcorn squash brings out its naturally sweet flavor.
- Butternut: This common hard squash has an elongated body and is yellow in color. Butternut squash is sweet when roasted, and is often used as an ingredient in risotto.
- Delicata: These small Winter squash have the sweetest flavor of all the hard squashes. Delicata squash are smaller in size than most of their other winter squash cousins. They have a small, cylindrical shape and have fragile skin, thus the name Delicata.
- Pumpkin: While we often associate pumpkins with Jack-o-Lanterns at Halloween, several varieties of this round-orange hard squash are quite sweet and often used in the making of pumpkin pie.
Squash Near Me
Buy your favorite Squash online with Instacart. Order Acorn Squash, Banana Squash, Buttercup Squash, and more from local and national retailers near you and enjoy on-demand, contactless delivery or pickup within 2 hours.
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FAQs about squash
Both soft and hard squash are low in calories and high in fiber and vitamin C, vitamin A, potassium, folate, and manganese. The seeds of both types of squash have large amounts of vitamin E and protein.
Once you bring Summer or soft squash home, take a damp cloth and lightly wipe the squash down to get rid of any dirt. Place the squash in a perforated plastic bag and store it in the vegetable crisper. It's easy to freeze summer or soft squash for future use. Cube the squash, blanch them in boiling water for about 3 minutes, and then plunge the squash into cold water for about 3 minutes. Drain and freeze in baggies or containers.
Hard squash, when stored properly, will last from 3-5 months. Find winter squash that has about 2-3in of stem left on it. Wipe off any dirt with a dry cloth. Store in a dry, cool spot with a relative humidity of about 60%.
Whether you want some squash to bake, grate into a salad, or store for future use, save time and make your day easier by adding your favorite squash to your Instacart order. Download the Instacart app today, and start shopping for squash that your Instacart shopper will deliver to your home!